Wednesday, November 30, 2011

I know you're not supposed to play favourites, but when it comes to our working dogs, I just can't help myself. This dog has the most beautiful nature, he is gentle and super smart and just has this instinct when rounding up the cattle. Plus he has the most gorgeous big brown eyes, that melt my heart all the time. His name is Max. This was another layout I completed at Donna's on the weekend. I've used a bit of Authentique on this one, plus some crochet trim from the Chip Chop Shop, a Prima flower and some twine.

Lachlan has developed a real love of reading all of a sudden. He is forever reading his favourite book at the moment - The Super Hero Squad. He takes it with him everywhere. This photo was taken at my Mum and Dad's place while we were there a few weekends ago.

I've used up a bit of my OA 5 & Dime stash, plus some Jillibean Soup alphas which I have mounted on black cardstock to make them stand out. The ribbons are from Typo (*sigh* I love that place!!).

Monday, November 28, 2011

I have just spent an awesome weekend on 'retreat' at Donna's, along with 15 other ladies. It was so nice to get stuck in and scrap! I managed a stack of layouts for the weekend but will just share this one for today. This is my take on this months sketch at Anna's:

It's kinda based on this sketch:

I've used some Crate Paper 'Farmhouse' on this one. I just love that background paper - I've used it before! lol And I'm loving these Thickers too! I'll be back over the next few days to share the rest of my creations.

Only a few more days to go of my husband looking like this: I am really looking forward to him being able to shave off his mo. ;) But it's all been for a good cause. We would like to say a huge thank you to those of you who have sponsored Luke on his 'moventure'. We have managed to raise almost $100. It's not too late to make a donation - to do so, follow this link:

Wednesday, November 23, 2011

since I updated my blog. :( I have been having a break from the computer - mainly because we reached our download limit for the month! Too much online Christmas shopping, I think! lol We have been away for a few days as well. But I am back now and have a layout to share - one that I did a little while ago but haven't got around to sharing it yet.

I've used a photobooth strip but the photos look a little dark in this pic. I've used some Cosmo Cricket 'Odds & Ends', a bit of hessian, a fabric flower and button and some ric-rac - using up lots of little bits and pieces. :) Oh and there's a My Little Bit Of Whimsy duck pin on there as well.

I'm off for a scrappy weekend at Donna's on Friday. It can't come quick enough at the moment. I haven't scrapped in what feels like forever so I'm looking forward to creating and enjoying the company of some awesome chickies!!

Hopefully I'll have some Friday Faves this week too! Thanks for stopping by...

Monday, November 14, 2011

I had a bit of time to myself yesterday so I thought I'd have a play with paper and glue. :) I am heading off for a scrappy weekend at Donna's in a few weeks, so was saving my stash of October Afternoon 'Sidewalks' for that. But yesterday, I saw it sitting there on my desk looking very yummy, so I caved and ripped into it! lol And this is what I created with it, a 'just because':I do believe I went a little crazy with the foam tape here - 4 layers to be precise! I used one of the OA stickers and some Studio Calico alphas for the title:

The banners were inspired by the banners on Leeann Pearce's 'She' layout. And I've added some Mister Hueys to the background.

have a feeling that I may end up creating a few more layouts with this range today! *sigh* I {heart} October Afternoon....

So it's day 14 and this is how the Mo is progressing: I can't believe how old he looks! lol Things have been a little crazy here lately and his sponsorship page is looking a little sad. If you would like to get behind him and this very worthy cause please donate here.

Saturday, November 12, 2011

I always find it interesting watching the interactions and relationships between our kids. Lachlan and Michala are forever clashing but will play nicely together occasionally. Michala and Darcie get along really well together most of the time and love doing 'girly' things together. But I think Lachlan and Darcie have the closest relationship of all. She will go and snuggle up with him on the lounge, he helps her do the things she can't do yet and she is always so excited to see him when he gets home from school. They are like peas in a pod. This is my layout for the November 1st sketch at Stuck?!. This is the sketch:

I have used a little bit of Crate Paper, some Mister Hueys with The Crafters Workshop template and some Thickers. The banner is from A Lil Somethin.

Friday, November 11, 2011

Sorry I'm a little late with my faves this week. I've been doing the bookwork, only I'm not sure I've actually achieved anything! lol Let's just say it is NOT one of my faves!!

But here are my Friday Faves for this week:

1.

I love my garden. It's my little haven where I can get out in the sunshine and escape the kids (most of the time). We have done a fair bit of landscaping over the last few years. We've built all the gardens ourselves using sandstone rocks as garden edging. The rocks came out of a dam at one of our properties and are perfect edging coz we know that they will never rot or move! lol I've added plants that are mostly drought hardy because you just dont know when we could be running low on water.

2. I {heart} online shopping! Whenever we go to town, we usually only have enough time to do the grocery shopping and 'farm' shopping. The shops aren't always that great either. As a result, I do most of my shopping online. I am amazed at what you can now buy online. I have even bought plants for my garden online!! I would be seriously lost without it! (And probably a bit richer too!). I will be doing most of my Christmas shopping online this year.

3.

The last few days have really started to warm up! The best thing we ever did was install evaporative air con a few years ago. When Lachlan was a baby, I always had trouble getting him to sleep in the afternoon because it was so hot in his bedroom. We put the air con in before Michala was born. I love that it is so cheap to run and it's fantastic at night because you can push the cool night air through the house. Ahhh bliss! I really cannot stand the heat. I would much rather prefer to be at home in the air con than out in the paddock! lol

4.

One of my favourite scrappy tools at the moment is my Big Shot. I was lucky enough to win one as part of my Masters prizes last year. I have been using it quite a bit lately with some new Spellbinders Nestibilities. I decided to sell my Cuttlebug earlier in the year coz this machine does everything I need. :)

5. Michala had her 2nd day of Prep Orientation this week.

She is so excited about going to school next year! She has been waiting a looooong time (in her eyes anyway). She went off on the school bus with Lachlan on Wednesday morning looking totally cute in her uniform that is waaaay too big for her. She was pretty tired by the time they got home but she is counting the days until she gets to go back again next week.

Wednesday, November 9, 2011

I've scrapped again!! And this time it's a little different to what I have been creating lately - there's no mist!! lol

I've used some Jillibean Soup 'Apple Cheddar' on this one. I've rounded the corners for something different and used a button from A Lil' Somethin. This layout is based on this sketch for Show Us Your Stuff. And some close ups. The title:

Tuesday, November 8, 2011

While we were away over the weekend, the kids took the soccer ball and found an empty field to kick the ball around. I took my camera along and got some photos of them in action. Michala is quite good and she has the 'fight' in her to take on her brother. It's pretty funny to watch. lol

This is my layout for this months Scrap The Girls challenge - use polka dots, multiple pics and pink as the dominant colour. I've used some Echo Park 'Dots & Stripes' paper and stickers, The Crafters Workshop template to create the background and some Websters and Thickers for the title.

I used 2 different coloured mists - pink to create the polka dots and then sprayed some yellow over the top. The colours match the colours in the photo perfectly!

Have you liked Down On The Farm on Facebook yet? I am only 4 away from 100 likers!! I am totally blown away that so many of you are interested in what I create and what's going on at the Farm. If you aren't a liker yet - just hit the 'like' button on the Down on The Farm badge over on the left <-------.

Monday, November 7, 2011

It's my turn to set this weeks challenge in our 7 Colours of the Rainbow term of 4-7-11 at LSBS. This week we are going green! Here is my sample page:

I really struggle using the colour green on my pages for some reason, so this was a challenge for me! lol I couldn't find any alphas to suit my page, so initially I sprayed these Jillibean Soup corrugated alphas with green Mister Hueys. I didn't like the way they turned out so while they were still wet, I peeled the top layer off. I love the effect they have now with the green around the edges! :)

I've used some Crate Paper 'Toy Box' on this layout and added a fabric flower.

Friday, November 4, 2011

1. On Wednesday this week, Luke turned 40! He's never been all that fussed about birthdays but I always make them a big deal. After all, it the one day of the year that it's all about you!

For his 40th, Luke wanted to take a road trip out to Lake Eyre while it still had water in it. It was kind of a late decision and I didn't think heading out west in November was such a good idea, so if all goes to plan, we will be making the trek next Winter instead.

We went on a school excursion with the kids for half the day of his birthday so he got to have his birthday dinner at Maccas! But I will make up for it - we are heading away for the weekend and his friends and family will be joining us for a day to have a BBQ and celebrate.

2. A few months ago these guys got back together for a one-off performance at the Powerhouse in Brissy. I was a huge fan of Custard back in my late teens/early 20's. If they were on the bill at any of the music festivals - I was there! I'm so glad I got to see them again. The boys have still got it - even if they are a little older and wider! LOL3. My new scrapbooking love!! I am using Mister Hueys mist on EVERYTHING! I just can't get enough. I love how they are so thick and the colour in the bottle is the colour that appears on the page. I have just about every colour too!

4. Luke & I both absolutely looooove white chocolate (well I like ANY chocolate but white is my definate fave!) so I decided to make him a white chocolate mud cake for his birthday.

NB. The cake in the photo is NOT the one I made sadly.

5. Being a city girl, I have not really had much to do with horses. This old horse has been here for a long time. His name is Sonny and he is now 32 years old!!

Back in the day, he was an excellent campdraft horse and after that Luke's dad used to ride him to muster cattle. But then they got four-wheeler motorbikes and they didn't need the horse anymore. So he has spent the recent years just wandering around the paddocks at his own leisure. He has the most beautiful nature - so quiet and placid. As you can see he's not shy - yes that is him on the front verandah!!

The kids will still ride him occassionally and Luke has hopped on him a few times to throw out grass seed in places where the motorbike couldn't go. We have noticed in the past few months he is really starting to steady up and look old. It will be a very sad day when we lose him. He's like one of the family.

And that brings us to the end of my faves for this week. We are heading off to the Bunya Mountains for the weekend for a bit of relaxing, good food and awesome family/friends. See you all on the flip side!

Wednesday, November 2, 2011

We have another property that is located 70kms from where we actually live. Sometimes when we are working over there we need to stay overnight. There is an old wooden hut there, but there is no electricity or flushing toilet! We do have beds, a table & chairs, a wood stove (to keep us warm), a gas stove & a BBQ (to cook on) and a solar hot water system (so we can have hot showers). When we stay there, I like to think of it as glorified camping. The last time we stayed I took this photo of the kids having bacon & eggs for brekky on the little verandah.

I have used some Crate Paper 'Farmhouse' on this one. I've added a fabric flower and button and some Thickers on there too. And of course, there is some dymo tape and Mister Hueys. :)

Tuesday, November 1, 2011

We are celebrating Movember over at The Little Scrapbook Shop and our monthly challenges are all about the boys. This is my layout for my inspiration challenge:

Luke has gone without a decent shed for many years. We have spent most of our time focussing on renovating the house and the outside has taken a back seat. He has just recently bought himself a massive shed - 36m x 15m in fact, so now he has a new project! lol The photos on my layout are of the old shed before he pulled it down.

I have used some Studio Calico 'Memoirs' on this one. You can find all the details of my challenge here including what you can win - a massive $30 voucher to spend in the store. And while you are there check out Belle's fantastic challenge. ;)